The Cattle Raid of Cooley
The Cattle Raid of Cooley is a webcomic in the Ulster Cycle series by Patrick Brown, adapting the ancient Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. In Iron Age Ireland (two generations after The Ulster Cycle: Ness) queen Medb of Connacht leads an invasion of the Ulster, seeking to deprive the rival kingdom of its prize stud bull. Thanks to the intervention of two watching deities, her army is opposed only by Cú Chulainn, a sixteen-year-old rookie border guard, and his charioteer Láeg. It began in August 2008 and updates every Wednesday. The latest installment, page 71, was posted on 17 March 2010. Two print issues have now been published. Both are available from paddybrown.co.uk for £2 each. Like its predecessor, The Cattle Raid of Cooley is improvised in ink, without script or pencils. Unlike its predecessor, it is being serialised in its original colour - red. Published issues File:Crc1small.jpg|Issue 1, 28 March 2009 File:Crc2small.jpg|Issue 2, 14 November 2009 Connacht characters Medb Pronounced "Maeve". Queen of Connacht. Her father was Eochu Feidlech, the High King of Ireland. She likes men generally, but hates Conchobar, king of Ulster, and has raised an enormous army to invade Ulster and steal its prize bull, Donn of Cooley. Ailill Pronounced "AL-yil". He's Medb's husband, and king of Connacht, but he knows who's boss. Medb has the big ideas, Ailill has to work out how to make them happen. Fergus Pronounced pretty much as it looks. A hero in his youth (see The Ulster Cycle: Ness), Fergus was once king of Ulster, but now he and his foster-son Cormac, son of Conchobar, have defected to Connacht with a contingent of warriors. His relationship with Medb isn't entirely professional. Ulster characters Cú Chulainn Meaning "Culann's Dog" (we'll find out why at some point), and pronounced "KOO CHUL-in", with a guttural CH as in Scottish loch or German Bach. He's sixteen years old, graduated from Ulster's youth corps early thanks to his precocious talent, and on his first adult assignment, as a border guard. For other depictions, see Cú Chulainn in comics. Láeg Pronounced roughly "LOY". Cú Chulainn's charioteer and all-round logistical backup. From a lower class but more experienced than his master. Conchobar Pronounced "KON-uh-chuh-ver", with the CH guttural as before. King of Ulster. So far we've only met him as a boy in flashback, when he and his mother conned Fergus out of the kingship. Why does Medb hate him so much? Why did Fergus defect, and why did Conchobar's son Cormac follow him? We'll find out. The gods Lug Pronounced roughly "LOO". God of, among other things, skill, martial valour and glory - the exciting side of war. He has personal reasons not to be neutral in this particular conflict. The Morrígan Meaning "great queen", and pronounced, roughly, "MOR-ree-yan". Goddess of, among other things, carnage - the nasty side of war. Often appears as a crow. Praise for The Cattle Raid of Cooley "a tale full of earthy reality, full of the dirt of ancient lands and the blood of ancient races" Richard Bruton, Forbidden Planet See also A different adaptation of the same story can be found in Cló Mhaigh Eo's Irish language graphic novel An Táin. Michael Hall and Gary Hamilton's Cúchulainn: Champion of Ulster adapts the legends of the hero's youth. See Cú Chulainn in comics for others. External links *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A1in_B%C3%B3_C%C3%BAailnge Wikipedia article on Táin Bó Cúailnge] Press *[http://lucidfrenzy.blogspot.com/2009/04/another-year-another-web-mini-comics.html Gavin Burrows reviews The Cattle Raid of Cooley #1], 8 April 2009 *[http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2010/the-ulster-cycle-legendary-tales/ Richard Bruton reviews Ness and The Cattle Raid of Cooley #1], Forbidden Planet, 8 January 2010 Category:Comics C Category:The Cattle Raid of Cooley Category:Webcomics Category:Serials Category:Irish mythology Category:Historical Category:Drama Category:Fantasy Category:Action Category:Set in Ireland Category:Published in Belfast Category:Small press comics